7 Tips To Follow When Looking For An Apartment

7 Tips To Follow When Looking For An Apartment That Will Make Your Decision A Breeze

It’s nothing new that looking for an apartment is hard work. There’s a lot to consider between the cost, the location and how good the apartment itself is. Here’s our list of ways to make the job a bit easier.

Know your priorities

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Depending on why you’re moving you’ll have different priorities. If you’re finding a place for college you’ll want one near the campus. Or near the nightlife. If you have to pick one, that’s your business, but know what you’re looking for.

Public Transport

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This one can be pretty important but it’s one a lot of people don’t think of. Especially if you’re moving for work you may not be able to find an apartment nearby. Knowing the public transport routes and which ones you’re near should be part of your decision.

Learn the lingo

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Property agents have built an industry on creating a language to make every house sound more desirable. If you have an idea of what you’re looking for, learning the terms can help you figure it out. One of the main benefits of this is that it helps you read between the lines. Agents know how to talk up an apartment’s strengths but more importantly, how to disguise its weaknesses. Figuring it out means you can decide whether a place is worth a viewing or not, right off the bat.

Team up

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Most apartments aren’t made for one person. If you have some friends you can tag in to find a place, it makes it a lot easier. You’ll have to make sure you both have the same priorities. Or at least that you can meet in the middle on what you’re looking for in a house or housemate. Living with someone is very different to just knowing them so choose wisely. At the very least, you’re doubling the manpower you have searching for a house.

Get your paperwork ready

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You’ll likely be apartment hunting for a few weeks at least. Most places you go to, you’ll need some paperwork to be considered. And even if you don’t need it then, you’ll need it when you want to move in. Some agents or landlords will have more requirements than others. Make sure you meet as many as possible beforehand so you aren’t scrambling to get it. Previous landlord references, work references, bank details, whatever else it might be. Having it all on hand means less work down the road.

Check all the appliances

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Many people don’t think to do this or feel weird doing it in front of an agent. It’ll feel a lot better than having a shower with no water pressure though. Don’t start washing your clothes during a walk through but make sure you check showers, ovens, washing machines and fuse boxes.

Don’t just check property websites

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Property websites are great for listings but the fact is a lot of apartments are owned by older people. Some owners won’t like dealing with agencies. Check sites like Craigslist and newspaper property listings. If they aren’t tech savvy they either won’t have a listing online or the one they will have won’t look great. This is a double edged sword as a lot of places will have terrible listings because the apartments are terrible but if you can put the time into viewing them you stand a good chance of finding somewhere great.

Another step is to take a walk around areas you might like. You could get lucky and find somewhere with a sign up for rental that isn’t online. At the very least, it gives you an idea of what an area is like if you find something there in the future.

These are some of our most important apartment hunting tips. What did we miss? Let us know in the comments.